JW Marriott Hotel at Parq Vancouver

JW Marriott at Parq Vancouver
39 Smithe Street
604 676 0888

We spent our last night in Vancouver at the city’s newest and arguably most luxurious hotel – the JW Marriott Parq Vancouver. The hotel, and the entire Parq complex, is new since we left the city. I remember the construction site, located on our old running route. But I never imagined what an incredible structure would rise up from the piles of timber and brick. In the past year, the landscape has changed significantly, and certainly for the better. Parq is a breathtaking modern structure that houses two hotels – The Douglas and the JW Marriott – as well as Canada’s first Spa by JW, a casino and a number of restaurants. Suffice it to say that we were suitably impressed.

I’ll be honest – after a decade living in Vancouver, it takes a lot for a new building to impress us. New structures in the city can be so homogenous. At Parq, we found the kind of innovative architecture we love, with all kinds of treasures inside, too. Foremost among them, of course, was the JW Marriott.

The JW Marriott itself is the kind of hotel that makes you forget, temporarily, that life outside of it isn’t picture perfect. From the moment you step through the glass front doors, the hotel transports you into a tranquil, immaculately designed world. No detail was left to chance. I fell head over heels for a black and gold alcove in the lobby, only to discover it was the concierge desk. The concierge desk! My enthusiasm for beautiful interiors always borders on over-zealous. I was basically in heaven.

The rooms are equally beautiful. We overlooked False Creek and Science World, a part of the city we spent a lot of time in, particularly in 2016, so the view brought back good memories. But it was the beds that made our stay. I mentioned, albeit briefly, our lazy Sunday morning at the JW Marriott. That morning was unplanned. The beds were just so comfortable that I couldn’t bring myself to get up. For someone who regularly leaps out of bed at 6 am, even on vacation, that is huge. If I could have ordered a bad, and pillows, to take home, I would have done so with glee.

During my stay, I was treated to a massage at Canada’s first Spa by JW, located within the JW Marriott. We were incredibly busy during our stay in Vancouver. The roughly ninety minutes I spent relaxing at the spa served as my only opportunity to unplug and unwind in six days. In blogger hindsight, I wish I had taken my phone and camera with me. I always regret photos not taken, its inevitable. And on top of that, the Spa by JW is a space worthy of capturing in pictures. The soft, luxurious decor and calm atmosphere were perfectly soothing after a rushed afternoon. I didn’t scroll instagram. I didn’t read a single email. And it was pure bliss – although now I want to go back just to take photos!

To say I am a hotel enthusiast might not be a strong enough description. Forget filling online carts with shoes I will never buy; I spend countless hours browsing travel websites, looking at hotels I might someday want to stay in. My relatively average budget means a lot of those hotels are actually out of my reach. But I’ve been lucky, in the years I’ve been writing Coco & Vera, to have the chance to visit some utterly fabulous hotel properties – the JW Marriott Parq Vancouver among them. Considering my second dream career (after bestselling novelist) is hotel critic, it often feels almost too good to be true. The fact is, I’d be a terrible hotel critic – I love them all, every single one I visit, for different reasons. I loved the JW Marriott in Vancouver and, if I have my way, I’ll be back soon.

Tell me, what are your favourite hotels? I want to look them all up and dream! (The more far flung and unusual, the better.)